New Countdown for the Only Band That Matters

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Let's see...the last few music top ten countdowns I've done have been predominantly country (Jim Reeves [my all-time favorite singer], Hank Williams, the current on one Dale Watson). How do you counter-balance that? With The Only Band That Matters. Some publicist at the Clash's record label tagged them as "The Only Band That Matters." The nickname stuck. There's a reason: it's pretty accurate. To me, the Clash was easily the best punk band from the punk era. They were certainly more "punk" than other great bands from that era (Talking Heads were only lumped in with that genre because they played at CBGB's; and if you turn the guitars down the Ramones were just a rockabilly band); however, like Talking Heads, the Clash certainly was musically adventurous. To prove this, you're going to hear hip-hop, reggae, punk, and even "radio friendly" music on this countdown...all from the same band. In my opinion, London Calling is not only the band's masterpiece but one of the best albums that I've ever owned. Not just the 70s, ever. I got to see them on the Combat Rock tour in 1982, not too long before they broke up. In December 2002, about six weeks after it was announced that the Clash was to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, most frequent lead singer and songwriter Joe Strummer died of a congenital heart defect at the age of 50. That ended the hopes of a Clash reunion (which surviving band members said was going to happen in lieu of them playing at the overpriced Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony), which is sad. Yeah, Joe Strummer's voice wasn't the world's greatest; and yeah, they didn't play their instruments all that well. The Clash, however, were the right band at the right time, and in coming along when we needed them most, they became a band for all time. Hope you enjoy it. Here's a song that did NOT make the top ten cut, with lead vocals by bassist Paul Simonon: